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External sources (not reviewed)

Efforts at development of human capacities in least developed countries have been affected by high incidence of poverty, mass unemployment, high population growth rates, poor health and nutrition outcomes, as evidenced by high child and maternal morbidity and mortality rates and the high burden of undernutrition, the prevalence of communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and polio, and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.

[...] [...] greatest extent of mangrove forests in the [...] [...]

At its sixty-fourth session, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General, in close collaboration with the Director-General of the World Health Organization, and in collaboration with Member States, to submit to the Assembly at its sixty-fifth session a report on progress towards achieving the internationally agreed targets for 2010 and an evaluation of the implementation of the first Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing Countries, Particularly in Africa, including recommendations for further actions (resolution 64/79).

Changing demographics and poor technological and socio-economic conditions, unplanned urbanization, development within high-risk zones, underdevelopment and poor infrastructure, weak adaptive capacity, environmental degradation, climate variability, climate change, exposure to geological hazards, competition for scarce resources, and the impact of epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis all increase the vulnerability of least developed countries to natural hazards.

Emphasis should be placed on enhancing the capabilities of countries of the region to secure sustainable and safe drinking water supplies, urban water development and management strategies as well as issues related to urban and peri-urban drainage and sanitation, the rehabilitation of degraded water ecosystems, research on disappearing water resources, aspects of conflict prevention and resolution in relation to water issues, the creation of subregional water observatories, research in the sustainability of certain ecosystems and in particular of mangrove systems, as well as drawing on local knowledge for the protection of the environment.

Finally, Major Programme V has set a welcome example by earmarking at least 20% of its regular budget resources for intersectoral engagement, with particular focus on HIV and AIDS; climate change (including education for sustainable development and science education); new knowledge acquisition processes (including ICT-enhanced learning; media and information literacy); diversity and mutual understanding (including multilingualism and heritage preservation); and support to countries in post-conflict and post-disaster situations.

In his report entitled “Keeping the promise: a forward-looking review to promote an agreed action agenda to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015” (A/64/665), the Secretary-General stressed that several countries have obtained very positive results in the fight against extreme poverty, have improved their levels of school attendance, children’s health and access to potable water and HIV/AIDS treatment and have made strides in the fight against malaria, tuberculosis and tropical diseases.

Other areas proposed for inclusion in mainstreaming approaches were: indigenous peoples; post-conflict countries and countries experiencing violence and conflict; culture of peace/peace-building; environment and environmental education; marginalized and vulnerable groups of society; people with disabilities; information on HIV/AIDS and malaria; dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples; promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue; Haiti; talented children; domains of education and culture; the Central Asia region; social and cultural challenges related to globalization; role of media and their relation with culture; and small island developing states (SIDS).

These include: HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act; which outlaws discrimination in all its forms and subtleties against persons with or perceived or suspected of having HIV and AIDS; the domestication of the Reproductive Health Agenda to promote safe motherhood and the survival of the child; the National Malaria Strategy ; and Measures to convert the National Health Insurance Fund into a National Social Health Insurance Fund to cover all employees both in the formal and informal sectors of the economy and to offer coverage for outpatient costs.

The most frequent complaints in children are respiratory tract infections (particularly pneumonia), diarrhoea, malaria, malnutrition and various neonatal diseases.

[...] [...] uprooting their fruit trees, blockading them [...] [...]

Activities to improve maternal health include integrating prenatal follow-up care within all front-line health facilities (Integrated Health Centres) and hospitals; making malaria treatment free to mothers and children up to 15 years of age; provision of free medical care to people living with HIV/AIDS; distributing insecticide-treated mosquito nets to mothers; provision of equipment and medication for basic and emergency obstetric and neonatal care to Integrated Health Centres and national referral hospitals; on-site training in/review of basic and emergency obstetric and neonatal care and comprehensive first-aid care for maternal health-care workers and at Integrated Health Centres; systematic vaccination of pregnant women and children; systematic administration of iron to mothers and vitamin A to children and to mothers post-partum.

Approval of a programme in conformity with the WHO requirements allowed the attraction of an important number of donors: “Global TB Drug Facility” of the Stop TB Partnership of Geneva, the Global AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Fund, USA Development Agency (USAID), “Caritas Luxemburg”, Netherlands Royal Association of Tuberculosis Control (NRATC), MSH (SUA), Green Light Committee of the WHO, which determined the supply of a very important support to implement the planned activities.

In addition to the chemical synthesis of a genome able to control a bacterial cell (Craig Venter’s artificial life) other important stepping stones include: the engineering of the metabolic pathway in yeast to produce the precursor of an anti-malarial drug; the creation of a synthetic mammalian gene circuit that revealed anti-tuberculosis compounds; a demonstration of distributed biological computation; and the engineering of an E. coli to sense and kill a human pathogen.

UNICEF is a founding partner, with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) initiative, a global partnership established in 1998 to halve the world’s malaria burden by 2010.

In the past few months, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the GAVI Alliance have embarked on replenishments to ensure they can maintain their level of support to build better health systems; there have been calls for new financing of the Group of Eight 2009 L’Aquila Food Security Initiative and for a multi-donor trust fund that could support millions of farm families seeking to enhance food productivity; for the Framework Convention climate change mitigation and adaptation funds and others.

(j) Increasing efforts to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, strengthening the fight against malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases, including by providing adequate funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and through the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system and other multilateral and bilateral channels, strengthening innovative financing mechanisms, as appropriate, and contributing to the long-term sustainability of the response.

UNICEF is also strengthening partnerships in malaria with the World Bank, the US President’s Malaria Initiative, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Malaria No More and UNITAID.

The following topics and themes were also proposed for pursuit in an intersectoral and interdisciplinary manner in document 35 C/5: fight against poverty; inclusive education; arts education; education in the context of prisons; water and environment – including desertification and climate change; media education and introduction of ICT in curricula; preventive education, to address not only HIV and AIDS but also malaria and other pandemic diseases; scientific and technological education for all; strengthening of research systems; preservation and promotion of traditional local knowledge; intellectual property; world heritage conservation; culture for sustainable development and ecotourism; preservation of documentary heritage; and intercultural dialogue.

[...] [...] drainage channel at Cheung Shue Tan and [...]

International institutions, such as WHO or the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) may also have an essential role to play in facilitating and financing group purchases of medicines from both brand and generic manufacturers.

In this regard, we will take such actions as the distribution of malaria bed nets, including free distribution, where appropriate, and effective anti-malarial treatments, the expansion of local school meal programmes, using home-grown foods where possible, and the elimination of user fees for primary education and, where appropriate, health-care services.